Gambling debt plays a role in may Suspense stories, and this one is from one of mystery literature’s greatest names, Agatha Christie. James Mason and Pamela Kellino, one of Hollywood’s popular married couples of the time, star in the production.
Mason’s character lives with his elderly widowed aunt and her house servant, played by Kellino. He’s piling up gambling debts ($50,000 after conversion from British pounds, which is nearly $700,000 in US$2024!). It’s pretty clear where this is headed. Dispose of the aunt, get her insurance and assets, pay the debt, and run off with the servant and live happily ever after. It is so convenient that the aunt’s medical condition requires that she stay as calm as possible, as any sudden shock may lead to her demise. Oh, how lucky everyone is! The aunt can literally be scared to death without any detectable physical harm. It should be as easy as hiding in a corner or behind a curtain and just jumping out and shouting “boo!” That won’t happen. There’d be too much broadcast time left over.
Instead, he starts a ruse to be the haunting voice of the aunt’s deceased husband with a microphone and radio speaker system. She is convinced it’s a true communication with the spirit world. He dresses up as the husband, delivers a final message over the speaker. We hear the thump of the aunt’s freshly deceased body hitting the floor.
There’s something he did not count on. His aunt was in the process of reconsidering the terms of the will which he believed would make him wealthy even after paying the debts… She didn’t make the revisions he was counting on. The story is entertaining but not as compelling as other episodes.
The Christie story was adapted by William Fifield, who had a very interesting career. He started as a radio announcer and writer and he became involved in numerous literary and other projects in the US and in Europe. He made acquaintances with many influential artists and creators of the 1950s and 1960s. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Fifield Another Fifield endeavor will be presented on Suspense in April 1949.
The original working title for this script was “The Bedford Case.”
This is the first appearance of James Mason and Pamela Kellino, one of Hollywood’s star couples. Their careers, together and apart, are much too complex to detail here, but are summarized at Wikipedia for Pamela https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Mason and James https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Mason Suspense producer William Spier had a professional desire to become a movie producer. When he left Suspense the second time, the Masons and the Spiers (Bill and June Havoc) worked with Pamela’s ex-husband, Ray Kellino, to produce and act in Pamela’s movie script, Lady Possessed. It did not go well https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Possessed James Mason would appear on Suspense multiple times, usually with Pamela as co-star or in a supporting role. The Masons had long, varied, and successful careers and were popular radio and television guests.
LISTEN
TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or
mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP0224
THE CAST
JAMES MASON (Charles Ridgeway / “Patrick”), PAMELA KELLINO (Elizabeth), Ben Wright (Jepson / Newsreader), Herb Butterfield (Dr. Meynell), Ruth Rickaby (Aunt Mary Harter), Don Morrison (Inspector / Spanish radio voice), Ramsay Hill (Hopkinson / French radio voice), Paul Frees (Signature Voice)
COMMERCIAL: Sylvia Simms (Operator), Bill Johnstone (Hap), Harlow Wilcox (Announcer)
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